Dry paint transfer laminates have been used in the past as surface coverings that provide an alternative to conventional painting. Water based paints and oil based paints have well known shortcomings that can be overcome by the use of decorative dry paint transfer films as a paint replacement. Environmental problems such as solvent evaporation from paint systems applied by spray painting also are avoided by use of decorative dry paint transfer films.
Such decorative dry paint transfer films are typically applied to a substrate surface by an adhesive layer carried by the film. Use of heat-activated adhesives or water-activated adhesives can have certain disadvantages that are overcome by use of pressure-sensitive adhesives, by which the decorative film is adhered to the substrate surface by application of pressure only, typically at room temperature. Examples of decorative films having pressure-sensitive adhesive layers for interior or exterior applications are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,396 to Patton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,995 to Smith, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,207 to Paquette et al.
Decorative films having a pressure-sensitive adhesives are often adapted to facilitate application to a surface by using various forms of repositionable adhesives known in the art. The laminate can be initially applied to a surface, removed temporarily, and then repositioned, to allow the adhesive to form a permanent bond. Decorative films having such a repositionable adhesive layer are described, for example, in the '207 patent to Paquette et al.
Such decorative films or laminates having pressure-sensitive adhesives also can be self-wound to facilitate storage of the film and application of the film to a substrate surface when the paint film is unwound. These self-wound films commonly include a release coating on a face of the decorative film opposite from the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer. The '995 patent to Smith, for example, discloses such a self-wound roll of a pressure-sensitive adhesive-coated laminate which eliminates the need to strip or discard a protective release layer as part of the application process.